Harry R. Roberts
Henry Richard Roberts ( – 5 June 1924), generally known as "Harry Roberts" was an Australian actor, remembered as husband of actress Maggie Moore following her divorce from J. C. Williamson.
History[]
Roberts was the son of actors Richard W. "Dick" Roberts (died c. 1877) and his wife, whose stage name was "Miss Polly Leake" (died 1881).[1] "Dick" Roberts made his first Australian appearance at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne as Asa Trenshard in Our American Cousin on 3 June 1871. He was at one stage lessee and manager of the Haymarket Theatre, Melbourne.[2] Laura Roberts, an actor with a long and successful career, was a sister. Roberts is reported as being born in Dunedin,[3] as Henry Robertson,[4] and his father a cousin of Sir Forbes Robertson.[5]
Roberts gained stage experience from an early age, joking that not only had he played "Little Willie" in but also "Little Eva" in . He later appeared in Shakespeare with such companies as George Miln and Essie Jenyns.[6] He played for George Rignold at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Bland Holt at Drury Lane, Robert Brough at the Criterion, Sydney and at the .[7]
He left Australia for America in 1890 and did not return until 1908. In San Francisco he stage-managed The Silver King for 's Comedy Company. He played
- Napoleon opposite in Madame Sans-Gêne
- Jack Jura, in Henry Hamilton's
- Francis, in Zangwill's Children of the Ghetto
- Jaikes, to Wilton Lackaye's Wilfred Denver in The Silver King[3]
- Petronius to Mary Keane's Eunice and Mary Van Buren's Poppaea in
- The Dean of Westminster in Cecil Raleigh's
David Belasco is said to have seen him in Quo Vadis or Peace, and invited him to Boston, where he played
- John Alden, in with as Priscilla Sefton
- The papal nuncio in Belasco's
Belasco then engaged Roberts on a five-year contract to support Mrs. Leslie Carter in a wide variety of character parts. He played for two years at the New York Criterion and at the Belasco Theatre. He made for himself a reputation for versatility. He was accordingly chosen by Edward Peple, to create the lead role of
- William Peyton, a young sculptor, in his play , which part he reprised in June 1906 at the London Criterion, garnering praise for his attitude of affectionate respect towards the child hero of the story. He also starred in
- Sir Horace Welby in with Rose Coghlan.
- Charles Courtley in the New York revival of London Assurance with .
When , general manager of the Brough Company, secured The Prince Chap for Australia, he also contracted Roberts, and the play opened at the Palace Theatre, Melbourne.
- In 1895 he played Svengali to Moore in the Trilby name part at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne.[8]
- In 1910 he played opposite Nellie Stewart at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne for George Musgrove.
- He next starred opposite Maggie Moore at the Palace Theatre in The Shadows of a Great City and .
He made a few appearances after the 1914–18 war, but chiefly for J. C. Williamson's — as the lawyer disguised as a waiter in Pollock's The Sign on the Door at the Criterion with and Frank Harvey, and as Pelham Franklin in Cosmo Hamilton's .
Last days[]
Roberts suffered from a heart complaint resulting in a long period of intermittent invalidism. When the disease became acute he left his wife at her home "San Francisco" on Wilberforce Avenue, Rose Bay, for professional care at a private hospital in Woollahra, where he died a little before midday on 5 June 1924. Notice of his death was announced by Moore in a telegram to the ,[6] Theatre Royal Buildings, Bourke Street, Melbourne.
Personal[]
Roberts was tall and lightly built, but had a deep and melodious voice. He was adept at recitation, and was known for projecting emotions in a restrained and unaffected manner.[4]
Moore (born Margaret Virginia Sullivan on 10 April 1851) married Williamson on 2 February 1873; she left him around 1890 and they divorced 29 May 1899. Roberts married her in New York on 12 April 1902.[9]
No reference has been found to Roberts having married previously, or having any children. He and Moore jointly owned a property at Cottesloe, Western Australia.[10]
References[]
- ^ "Death of Miss Polly Leake". The Lorgnette. XXIII (1753). Victoria, Australia. 7 November 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 22 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Answers to Correspondents". The Lorgnette (217). Victoria, Australia. 2 May 1895. p. 8. Retrieved 22 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "The Prince Chap". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) (9018). New South Wales, Australia. 25 April 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 21 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Mr Harry Roberts". The Sydney Morning Herald (26, 964). New South Wales, Australia. 6 June 1924. p. 10. Retrieved 21 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Theatrical Gazette". The Referee (1918). New South Wales, Australia. 12 December 1923. p. 15. Retrieved 21 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Dramatic Notes". The Australasian. CXVI (3, 037). Victoria, Australia. 14 June 1924. p. 39. Retrieved 21 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Amusements". The Queenslander. XXXI (615). Queensland, Australia. 16 July 1887. p. 98. Retrieved 22 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Spotted". The Daily Mail (55). Queensland, Australia. 15 June 1924. p. 11. Retrieved 22 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Richard Refshauge (1974). Australian Dictionary of Biography: Moore, Maggie (1851–1926). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Advertising". The West Australian. XXXII (4, 488). Western Australia. 19 August 1916. p. 11. Retrieved 22 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1924 deaths
- 19th-century Australian male actors
- 20th-century Australian male actors